The European Union has urged Chinese authorities to clarify the fate of one of its local employees in Beijing who has been detained for eight months, including the reasons for his arrest, calling for "
an appropriate response
".
"
Despite multiple requests from us to the Chinese authorities, we have so far not been informed of the specific allegations or charges
," EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said.
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The EU delegation employee was arrested by police in September 2021, the EU confirmed in an emailed statement.
"
We will continue to request information until we get an appropriate response,
" said Nabila Massrali, adding that the EU was "
concerned for his well-being
."
French newspaper
Le Monde
reported that An Dong, a worker in the IT department, was arrested for "
stirring up quarrels and troubles
", a vague charge often used to stifle dissent, punishable by a maximum of five years. of imprisonment.
The EU sent three "
notes verbales
" to the Chinese authorities to request additional information on the alleged offenses and also claiming that An Dong can consult a lawyer of his choice and not officially appointed, according to the daily.
The Chinese national is believed to be detained in Sichuan province (southwest), thousands of kilometers from Beijing.
The arrest in China of an employee of a Western diplomatic mission is rare.
Simon Cheng, a former local employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong, claimed he was tortured by Chinese police in 2019 after being detained for 15 days while on a business trip to the mainland.
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig was imprisoned for nearly three years in China for espionage, like another Canadian, Michael Spavor, apparently in retaliation for Canada's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
Both were released in September 2021, at the same time as Meng Huawei left Vancouver to return home, ending a three-year diplomatic dispute.
Ties between China and the EU have deteriorated since the pandemic.
Read also Does Taiwan belong to China?
The EU notably accused China of economic coercion following an unofficial trade embargo imposed on Lithuania shortly after the Baltic country allowed Taiwan to open a representative office.
More recently, the EU warned China not to provide military or financial support to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
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